Intelligence Testing
by Indigo Rosebud
Summary: Xemnas decides to order IQ tests for Organization XIII so that he'll know who to send on intelligence heavy missions. Of course, the rest of the order gets competitive about their scores and there are a few surprises when the results are announced. [Fin!]
1. It started so innocently

A/N:

Hey all! Indi here, with my first Kingdom Hearts fic. It's centered around Organization XIII (favorites of mine) and is supposed to be just silly and cute. There are no romance pairings, so I'm sorry if that's what you were looking for. As of now, it's only a few chapters long (2 or 3), but I might do a sequel if there is enough clamoring for it and the plotbunnies are generous with their bounty. And onwards!

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"C'mon? I'll go as low as 50 munny."

"No, Luxord."

"Roxas, please?"

"What are the two of you doing!" Both blond nobodies jumped several feet in the air as Xemnas, their superior, entered the corridor holding a slim envelope. Luxord spoke up.

"My apologies sir, but I was just trying to get Roxas to bet on the results of yesterday's testing… If you don't mind taking a look yourself my rates are rather reasonable." Xemnas decided that the organization should be tested for reasoning skills and general intelligence, using something that would be called an "IQ test" in most worlds. According to Xemnas, this would help him calculate which member would be better for missions involving high-level analytical skills. Hopefully this would end the anonymous comments in the Organization's suggestion box that the senior members were always choosing "the wrong guy" for the mission. As soon as the testing was done, Luxord had tried to entice the other members into betting on their positions. No one had taken him up, much to his disappointment.

"Are those our scores?" Roxas eyed the envelope in his boss' hand. He was curious as to how he measured up to the other members in terms of intelligence. Of course he didn't expect to be first, the original members were scientists after all, but he was hoping to score respectably.

"Yes." The boss' answer was curt. "You two, gather the others in the Proof of Existence, that area should serve this purpose well."

"Care to tell us how we did first? Eh Xemnas?" Luxord asked curiously.

"I have not even opened this envelope yet, I shall do it when we have all gathered in the Proof." Xemnas let himself nearly smile. The testing started for analytical purposes only, but it quickly spread into a competition amongst the order. The two younger nobodies saluted Xemnas sharply and ran off to collect the others.

They were rather lucky, Roxas reflected as he leaned against the cool blue wall in the Proof of Existence. They had managed to find the rest of the organization in record timing. And they seemed rather excited about the result. Xemnas gently rapped his knuckles against the wall to call the room to attention. Twelve pairs of eyes turned towards him.

"Ahem, if I may say a few things before I reveal the results. Firstly, you are all intelligent"- a few heads turned towards some of the younger members- "seriously, you are. You all scored above average compared to some score sheets I got with the test. So no one should feel inferior. Also, the first five members had a higher average, but that should be expected as they were all scientists before becoming nobodies…"

"Ah! Question!" Larxene held her hand up. "You said the first five, but weren't there six of you?"

Xemnas shrugged. "Answer: Since I am using this data to assign missions, I saw no need to evaluate myself. Therefore, I am not included in these scores." Larxene interrupted again.

"Question! Is that the actual reason or did you score low and you don't want the rest of us to see it so that your ego and reputation can remain intact?"

"Answer: Shut up. Now, on to the results. All I know about the scores are what I have already told you. Your names are listed from the highest score to the lowest. Now I just need to open this sealed envelope..." As Xemnas adroitly slit the paper open, the rest of the Organization drew closer. When he pulled out the scorecard, he was promptly tackled by six overexcited nobodies who were the most competitive about the testing. It was all the Superior could do to drop the paper with a frightened squeak and cling to a wall a safe distance away from the dogpile. Looking up, he saw Xigbar, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saix, Demyx, and Larxene watching their fellow members wrestle for control of the results. At least half of them had some form of patience.

It was about two minutes later when Vexen emerged from the chaos, the paper with the results held firmly in his hands. He looked over the top and scowled, throwing the paper behind him where it hit Axel in the face. As Axel grabbed it and ran away, Roxas, Xaldin, Luxord, and Marluxia chasing after him, Vexen turned to the small group who had decided to wait for the scorecard.

"Second!" Vexen slouched against the wall, arms folded over his chest. "I cannot believe I came in second! At least the member in first wasn't a neophyte…"

"Mind telling us who it was?" Xigbar threw one of his guns up in the air where it spun and fell back into his waiting hand.

"It was him." Vexen pointed at Zexion, who arched his visible eyebrow in surprise.

"Got anything on the rest of us?"

"No, I didn't bother reading.." The remaining members heaved a collective and audible sigh as shouts rang out from the corridor above them. About five minutes and seven rumblings that sounded suspiciously like faraway explosions later, Axel and the others walked back into the proof. Xaldin was the one holding the paper, but all five of them had a knowledgeable look that told the others they all had seen it. They also had a varied arrangement of new cuts and bruises that were likely acquired in the aforementioned struggle. Xaldin handed the paper to Xigbar, who noticed that the former was missing one of his trademarked sideburns. He shuddered, once more glad that he decided to wait.

"So, anything we wouldn't expect?"

"Read it and see. But yeah, I think there's a cheater in our midst." Axel said.

"A cheater? What do you mean?" Larxene shot the others a piercing glance. Marluxia was the one to answer.

"Let's just say, if I had more munny on me I would have bet on some one to fall in last, by a mile. Some one who managed to get into the top half."

"Let's see here…" Xigbar ran his eye down the list of names. "Hmmm, wasn't expecting that. You guys take a look." The remaining organization members gathered around the Freeshooter and stared at the results. They read as follows…

**Organization XIII Official Intelligence and Reasoning Skills Evaluation**

**Zexion**

**Vexen**

**(tie) Lexaeus and Demyx**

**Xigbar**

**Marluxia**

**Xaldin**

**Larxene**

**Axel**

**Luxord**

**Saix**

**Roxas**

There was a brief moment of silence in the Proof of Existence as the Organization fully digested the information. Demyx froze, he didn't cheat, he knew he didn't cheat, he really had tried his best, but third? And the highest score outside the original members? He couldn't expect the others to believe it. He himself didn't believe it. Shaking, he took a couple steps backwards and then turned around and began to run. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough.

Saix let out a roar and pounced on the Melodious Nocturne. Demyx felt the air rush out of him as Saix's elbow rudely collided with his abdomen. The Lunar Diviner rudely hoisted him up by the hood of his cloak. Demyx was about to protest when he saw the sharp point of a kunai just millimeters away from his neck. Larxene snarled at him.

"We are going to see the superior about this… NOW!"


	2. The cheater?

A/N: Thank you thank you thank you all so much! Since I've posted the first chapter I find another positive review every time I check my email. I was going to wait a bit before working on the fic some more, but you readers have egged me on and gotten me started way sooner! It's going to be a tad more Demyx-centric from here on out, hope you don't mind, but I will add in the other members too! And yes, the idea for naming the Deus Ex Machina charm was taken from Organization VI's fic "Those Without Spines." Just yell at me if it wasn't ok and I'll change the name like the good submissive fangirl I am.

Also: Indigo "Indi" Rosebud does not own any part of Organization XIII or Kingdom Hearts 2. She does, however, own this plot idea along with the immense stupidity that caused her to forget the disclaimer in the first chapter.

"So, what appears to be the problem?" Xemnas was sitting at his desk, looking at the group gathered before him. Demyx was in the middle, clearly shaking in fright. Larxene held a kunai to his throat while Saix's claymore was held inches from the back of his head. Axel and Marluxia were standing nearby, both looking furious. A few feet away, Xigbar and Zexion were looking on. The rest of the Organization had either lost interest or had work to do. Saix was the unofficial spokesperson of the group, since he was both the closest to the Superior and the most upset about the matter.

"This!" Saix nudged Demyx to indicate the recipient of his wrath, "This… thing had the nerve to cheat on the tests! Fortunately for his worthless hide, the rest of us decided not to stoop down to his level and that we would do things in an orderly fashion, so we brought him to you."

"And what makes you think he cheated?"

"Sir, have you seen the results?"

Xemnas chuckled. "No, I decided to keep my health intact and wait until the rest of you were done. Why?"

"Take a look! Axel?" Axel took out the results paper and handed it over to Xemnas.

"Hmmm…" The Superior took the scores and scrutinized them. "I'll admit that this is unusual, not what I would expect. Is this the only indication you have that he cheated?"

"Isn't it enough?"

"Point taken. Wait here, I am going to talk to the Nobodies that helped distribute and manage the testing." As Xemnas teleported through a dark portal, Saix almost growled at Demyx.

"You are so dead when he gets back."

"But I didn't cheat!" Demyx was truly scared. Until now, the only thing that kept Saix from killing him were Xemnas' orders that banned fighting within the order. If Saix got permission from the other members… Why did this have to be for something he didn't do?

"So, you're saying that we expect you to be the most intelligent Organization member that wasn't a scientist before joining?" Marluxia took out his scythe and twirled it around. "You are saying that except for Zexion, you are smartest person in the room?"

"No! I don't know why I did that well! I'm telling you…"

"Man Demyx.." Axel solemnly shook his head. "That was low, just low."

"Hey! Lay off him!" It was Xigbar, speaking for the first time. "Wait till Xemnas gets back, it's just common sense. If you beat him to a pulp now and then we find out the mix-up was due to a clerical error, and he didn't cheat after all, you'll be giving him the gloating rights in the end and the Superior'd kill ya. It's best to wait it out." Saix nodded gruffly and relaxed his stance a little.

"Thanks." Demyx managed to squeak out. Even if it was a little strange, Xigbar was the only one who would stand up for the timid musician. Still, Demyx wasn't in the position to complain. Before anyone else could speak, Xemnas appeared in the room again, flanked by sorcerer and dusk nobodies.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, but I checked in with all the lesser nobodies present at the time of the testing. Demyx did not cheat, nor were his scores mistakenly graded in any way. We are sure of that."

"What!" Saix almost roared, "but how? How then could he have scored so high!"

"As to that, we have not yet reached a conclusion. If any of you have an idea?" Demyx was tempted to blurt out something along the lines of "Maybe I'm not such an idiot?" but that was impossible. Firstly, either Saix or Larxene would kill him before he could get through two words. Secondly, it was something he himself didn't believe was possible. It ended up being Zexion who came up with the first idea.

"Um, excuse me, but I have a theory." Zexion almost smiled as everyone stared at him with a level of respect he had never seen before. It appeared that this testing had some benefits after all. "The test was multiple choice, Demyx could have been just very very very very lucky that day."

Marluxia glared. "So, any ideas on how to deal with it?"

"As a matter of fact, there is one thing I thought of. Remember Luxord's charm?" They remembered. Due to Luxord's unusually high luck, Vexen had crafted a luck-canceling charm that Luxord wore during testing. It negated all luck, both good or bad. Vexen called it the Deus Ex Machina charm. Xemnas wanted the entire organization to wear them, but the materials were both expensive and hard to find, so only one was made. At the time of the first testing, it would only make sense that the charm would go to Luxord. "Well…" Zexion continued, "we can have Demyx take another test of the same difficulty, just different questions, and have him wear the Deus Ex Machina charm while talking it. That should settle the issue once and for all."

Xemnas nodded. "That seems reasonable. In that case, Marluxia, go get the charm from Luxord. I shall go get the test and arrange for the results to be sent to us as soon as possible. Axel, Xigbar, you two keep an eye on Demyx and make sure he doesn't try anything that would give him an advantage. The rest of you, prepare the same room we used last time for testing and make sure there is nothing inside that Demyx could use to cheat. I will meet you all back here in two hours.

_Just great_, Demyx stared at the floor. _Another test, but what if I get the same score? What will the others think of me then?_ The Melodious Nocturne smiled, finally he had a plan.


	3. Second set of results

A/N: Hey, it's Indi again, here with another chapter. I'd just like to give one more big shout-out to all my reviewers. Believe me, nothing brightens my day like checking my email to find that one or two more of you have sent me such kind reviews. Really, my personal goal was to nab at least one per chapter, but you guys gave me so much more. I don't know how I can thank you all enough.

Also, I do enjoy communities that rant about bad fanfictions, and I understand that my writing is some of the lower quality here, so I will not get angry if some one posts a rant about my fic. I only ask that 1) you understand that I will probably see and respond to your rant, and 2) if you have a problem with my fic, please tell me before you go posting tales of my suckitude across the internets.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of the Kingdom Hearts plot and/or characters. They belong to Square Enix.

Warning: Some cussing in this chapter

It was raining heavily in The World that Never Was. Demyx was on one of the outside balconies, it had been almost an entire day since he had taken his second test, and the results were due back soon. An overhanging canopy shielded him from the rain. He was squatted down and staring at some castle blueprints that he asked Xemnas for right after he finished his second test. Every so often, Demyx would take out a pencil and make a few marks in certain rooms. He was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice a figure in a black cloak sneak up on him.

"Boo!"

"Aaiiiiie!" Demyx dropped his pencil and jumped a few inches in the air. Since he was already squatting, the jump caused him to lose his balance, get tied up in his cloak, and fall painfully on his back. Some _very_ familiar laughter was coming from the intruder. "Xigbar! Don't do that!"

Number II in the Organization ignored his cohort's protests and looked over blueprints. "What's this for? Some kind of secret plan? Zexion said that you looked like you were scheming something when you came out of that testing room."

"Oh, that." Demyx grinned as he picked up the scattered blueprints. "You won't tell the others, will you?"

"My lips are sealed, now spill it."

"Ok. See, no matter what Xemnas is going to say about my results, Saix, Larxene, and some of the others are gonna be pissed. I'm charting out all the best hiding places in the castle so I can lay low until he forgets about it. I've also marked ways to travel from one hiding place to another in case one of them get too close, and so I can go grab food and stuff."

"Uh, Demyx?"

"Hm?"

"This is all very impressive, I actually don't think anyone else in the Organization could make something like this, but you have a mission tomorrow. Me, you, Saix, and Marluxia. And it usually takes Saix a week to get over something like this. Didn't you remember?"

"Gah! Ouch!" Demyx whacked his forehead with the palm of his hand and winced in pain. "Is face-palming supposed to hurt that much? I see you do it all the time and it never seems to bug you."

Xigbar sighed, "You aren't supposed to _really_ hit yourself full force, did you think I'd just clobber my face every time some one in this castle did something stupid?"

"Well… that would explain those scars."

"Heh, it'd take more than that to cut me up Kid. Anyhoo, Xemnas said he's going to announce your new scores in the Proof in five minutes. Said you might wanna come. I'm going to stay out here and skip the fireworks, you can let me know how it went."

Demyx brightened up. "Alright! I've got a good feeling about this. Meetcha back here!" He flashed Xigbar a corny grin before stepping through a dark portal to the Proof of Existence. Truth be told, the Melodious Nocturne was feeling rather optimistic. He had tried much harder during the second test than the first, and he was maybe, just maybe starting to believe that he might not be as stupid as he thought.

"This should be good." Saix had gotten to the Proof right after Demyx. He was leaning on his claymore and grinning. Larxene stood next to him, sharpening her knives. The room slowly started to fill with the remaining members. Everyone had come except for Xigbar, who was waiting on the balcony outside, and Luxord, Vexen, and Xaldin, who decided that they weren't overly concerned about the matter and the evening would be better spent playing poker and drinking copious amounts of alcoholic beverages. Xemnas was the last to arrive, and he held the results in his hand. Silence fell amongst the gathered members.

"Ahem, if I may have your attention. Demyx's results from his second test recently came in. For the record, he did not cheat on his first test, it was Zexion's hypothesis that Demyx was just lucky that day. So for this test we had him wear the Deus Ex Machina charm. Anyone who wants further information on the capabilities of this charm should ask Vexen tomorrow once his imminent hangover has cleared." Demyx gulped, and ran his eyes across the room. He noticed Lexeaus looking his way, and the Silent Hero gave him a smile and a wink. Demyx nodded and turned back to Xemnas. "Now, with the charm, Demyx scored more like we would expect. He was lower than the rest of the Organization. And by a very considerable margin too. If any of you have questions, just ask me, but I request we drop the matter." With that, Xemnas turned around and faded through a dark portal. Demyx froze, he was the lowest? His good score earlier was just dumb luck? Why… when he was starting to think that maybe, he wasn't that stupid.

"Hey Demyx! Good one!" Larxene gleefully slapped the Melodious Nocturne on the back. "We know you, you'll never let us down!"

Demyx said nothing, he just opened his own dark portal and stepped through. Axel watched him go.

"Eh, think he's suffered enough by now?"

"Of course not!" Larxene looked like her birthday had come early. "I'm having way too much fun! Right Saix?" The Lunar Diviner nodded and smiled.

Demyx had teleported to one of the highest spires of the castle. It was a place he liked to go when his thoughts were troubling him. No one ever bothered him there. The only trouble was that there was no cover from the rain. It had really picked up, Demyx was drenched in seconds and the rain was getting colder. Still, it wasn't that bad, and he really needed to be alone for a bit.

"I guess Saix and the others were right, there really isn't that much to me. I'll miss it though, Xig and the others thinking I'm smart."

Demyx leaned against the spire and pulled his cloak around him. He just remembered how long it had been since he had slept. Last night his nerves wouldn't let him get to sleep so he just sat up and practiced his sitar. A nagging voice in the back of his mind told him that he should go back in, but he didn't want to move, he was to tired to move… Why couldn't he just take a quick nap here?

"Damn," Xigbar grumpily stepped into the Proof of Existence, carrying Demyx's blueprints. "Can't blame the kid for not wanting to go back out in this storm, but he could've at least told me." He turned to Zexion, who was seated nearby quietly working on a Rubix cube. "Where is he, anyways? How did the plan go?"

Zexion looked up. "The plan went well. Demyx put on the best performance I've seen in my life. Did you tell him what Xemnas was going to tell the others?"

"Me? I thought Xemnas already told Demyx about the results before he got us?"

"Really?" Zexion arched his visible eyebrow in mild surprise. "I thought that's why you were going, to tell Demyx about everything."

"No, didn't Xemnas tell him?"

"No, you were supposed to."

The Freeshooter and the Cloaked Schemer stared at each other as the recognition dawned upon them.

"SHIT!"


	4. These things can work out sometimes

A/N: Well, this is it! The final installment of Intelligence Testing. A big thanks to everyone and anyone who took the time out of their lives to read this, and even more love to those who sent me reviews. Because of you guys, I will be back with more silly little Organization XIII fics, so watch out for them! If any of you guys want to drop me a message, IM me at peacecat26 or email me at I'm not sure I could have made it to the end without all of my reviewers letting me know that they were looking forwards to it, so it would be an honor if I could thank you each more properly. And on to the fic! (I'll try to make this last bit a tad less confusing ;)

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ungh…" Demyx winced. He had just be jolted out of a deep sleep by _something_ pushing down hard on his chest and shaking him around. He tried to pitifully push back, but to no avail.

"Don't worry about how hard you're hitting him Lexeaus!" The voice sounded familiar. "It's ok if he gets a few broken bones, as long as we can wake him up before he fades away!"

Okay. That got Demyx up. He began fighting his assailant with renewed strength while gathering the energy in his lungs to squeak bloody murder (well, it was supposed to be a deathly intimidating yell, but you try managing something other than squeaking when you first get up in the morning). Finally, the pounding on his chest stopped.

"There we go, he's awake." It was Lexeaus who spoke this time, it was his slightly unorthodox method that had pulled Demyx out of his nap. He was able to recognize the earlier voice as that of Xemnas. The Melodious Nocturne pulled the hood of his cloak back, (with some difficulty, the thing felt like it had grown ten sizes) and paused to take in his surroundings.

He was in the lounge, a large and comfortable room that the Organization used for quiet relaxation. He was lying down on one of the room's many couches. Xemnas, Lexeaus, Xigbar, and Zexion were all standing around him. Xigbar stuck his arms under Demyx's shoulders and hoisted the young Organization member into a sitting position as Zexion grabbed his wrist and took his pulse. Demyx realized for the first time how cold he was. He was soaked to the skin and being in the warm room seemed to only have a slight effect on his constant shivering. As he looked around, Demyx noticed Lexeaus wasn't wearing a cloak, only the white T-shirt and black pants that the Organization wore underneath their intimidating hooded garments. Demyx himself was only wearing the pants, some one had removed his shirt and shoes.

"How you feelin' Kid?" Xigbar sat down next to him. Demyx shrugged the best he could while still shivering uncontrollably.

"I dunno, what happened?"

Xigbar rolled his eyes. "Am I going to have to knock the sense into you? Cause I will, don't get me wrong. But tell us, _why_ did you think it would be a good idea to take a nap outside in the rain?"

"Oh! That!" Demyx chuckled as the memories flooded through him. "I wasn't trying anything stupid, I just wanted to go outside for a bit. Didn't realize I was so tired. I didn't mean to fall asleep, really!" Why _did_ he want to step outside anyways? Oh. Right, the test. Demyx sighed and shifted his gaze to the floor. Stupid test.. "So, how did you guys find me?"

"These." Xigbar nudged the blueprints from earlier with his foot. "After you didn't come back to visit me when Xemnas announced the scores, Zexion and I got worried and we found out something that went wrong. When we called you and we couldn't find you, we got even more worried. We called everyone together to look for you. Well, everyone except Xaldin, Luxord, and Vexen. They were too much into their alcoholic poker already that we didn't think we could have them join a search party without falling on their faces. We divided up the blueprints and looked in the places you had marked. Lexeaus was the one who found you. He said your skin was turning blue and you were starting to Fade. Said he was afraid we were too late. So we went into the lounge, kicked all the newer members out so you could have some breathing room, and tried anything we could think of to wake you up. Lexeaus threw his coat over you so you wouldn't freeze, you're wearing it now, yours was soaked. Zexion said that he read once that the surest way to wake some one up was to press on the "sternum" and rub like hell. He said it was so painful that it's been used tell if people are just unconscious or in a coma. And it worked. And here you are. And you owe us all dessert for making us worry our asses off."

Demyx screeched his train of thought to a halt as he wondered how exactly one could worry their ass entirely off, and he looked around, trying to find Lexeaus to thank him. "Um, thanks guys, all of you, I'm really sorry you worried like that. But where _is_ Lexeaus? I could have sworn he was here just a minute ago…" Demyx's question was answered as the Silent Hero stepped through a dark portal, holding a mug of something steaming.

"Sorry I left." Lexeaus handed the mug to Demyx. "I thought some one should tell the others that Number Nine's condition has stabilized. And I got him something warm to drink." Demyx looked at the cup Lexeaus gave him. It was his favorite, hot chocolate with two scoops of marshmallow fluff (not actual marshmallows! Do you know what they put in those things?). He smiled sheepishly.

"Thanks Lexeaus, and the rest of you too. I'm sorry for scaring you all again…"

"Um, actually, us four are the ones who need to apologize to you. Y'see, there has been a slight misunderstanding." Xigbar and the others were looking seriously guilty. "Well, when your results came, we all had one or two shots while watching Luxord cheat at poker, and we were feeling pretty confident, and one of you take it from here, I suck at explaining things like this."

"Fine." Xemnas spoke up. "Firstly, you should have this." The Superior reached into the pocket of his robes and took out a sheet of paper. He handed it to Demyx who scrutinized it closely.

"But… this says- it can't be!"

"Oh, it's true alright. We all owe you an apology for not getting you this information sooner."

"But…" Demyx was speechless. There were the results from his second test, and he had done even better than before. He winced as Lexeaus ruffled his hair.

"Congrats kid, you beat me."

"You didn't pass Vexen though, but it's probably for the best." Zexion cut in. "You know how competitive he can be, especially with the newer members."

"Exactly, now as I was saying," Xemnas continued, "we were debating how to break the news to the rest of the castle when some one, I can't remember who it was, mentioned that some of the other members might get jealous. Some one else came up with the bright idea of telling everyone else that you scored lower so that they wouldn't harm you in a fit of jealous rage. We all agreed, and I told Xigbar to let everyone else know that I would be announcing the results in the Proof shortly. I thought he would tell you how you did, but he assumed I had already told you. It was a mistake on all of our parts, and I regret that it happened. Still, your achievement was a surprise to all of us." Xemnas smiled. "I look forwards to seeing you surprise us again, Number Nine."

The apologies and congratulations continued for several minutes until Demyx, who was still exhausted, fell asleep into his hot chocolate. After applauding Xigbar's quick gravity spell that prevented any serious spilling, the older Organization members decided it was best to let the Melodious Nocturne get some rest. Xemnas dismissed both him and Xigbar from their scheduled mission the next day. Xaldin and Luxord would be taking their places. The Superior made it clear that they would get something extra for going on a mission with such short notice. Namely, they would be getting all the pictures that Lexeaus took of their drunken poker game. Few people knew that the Silent Hero had an interest in candid photography. Still, the money for his books and gym equipment had to come from _somewhere_, didn't it?

vvvvvvv

It was the next day, sometime in the afternoon (although you could never be sure in The World That Never Was). Xigbar was reading in one of the lounge's easy chairs. Xemnas had given him the task of watching over Demyx and sounding the alarm if it looked like the young Nobody was going to take a turn for the worse. Fortunately, everything was going smoothly. The Melodious Nocturne was fast asleep, still wrapped up in Lexeaus' coat. (The Silent Hero didn't mind, he said he'd be able to get out of work for the day since his intimidating black cloak was being used for charitable purposes.) Xigbar and Lexeaus took a few pictures of the snoozing little guy earlier. Honestly, he hugged his pillow like it was a teddy bear when he slept. If that wasn't both the most adorable thing ever and proof that the Organization _did_ have hearts somewhere inside them, well, what else could be?

Xigbar walked across the room to open the lounge's curtains. He was feeling a little guilty. That morning, Vexen insisted that Demyx would recover faster if he took something that would help him fall asleep. Xemnas agreed and told Demyx to take the sedative, Demyx refused, and Xemnas turned around and began to walk away in a huff when he bumped into Xigbar who was bringing up some snacks and drinks. The Superior insisted that put the sleeping medicine in Demyx's tea, and two minutes later the Melodious Nocturne was out like a light. That was five hours ago.

"Hey!" Xigbar turned around and caught Larxene inching close to Number Nine with a felt point marker in her hand. "Nice try, now get outa here."

"Hrrmph!" The Savage Nymph threw her marker to the ground as she stormed out, muttering something about a bet with Marluxia. On a whim, Xigbar picked the marker up himself and scribbled the word "smarty" on Demyx's forehead. After a brief afterthought he also doodled a smiley face and a peace sign. Xigbar capped the marker and sat back down in his chair. The Freeshooter sighed and looked out the window at the heart shaped moon.

"Eh, I'm not that sure we need ya anyways, it looks like we can find enough excitement by ourselves."

Fin


End file.
